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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
_________August 21, 2000 Issue # 1601__________
INSIDE BURMA _______
Mizzima: Forced labor still go on in Burma, despite ILO ultimatum
AFP: Myanmar troops storm Karen National Union base: border sources
Bangkok Post the Generals' Visa Nightmare
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
Reuters/Mizzima: Calcutta port workers hold up ship from Myanmar
Reuters: Myanmar border guards kill four Bangladeshis
Chin Human Rights Organization: India Deported More Chin Refugees
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
Oil and Gas Journal: Myanmar's upstream sector hobbled by pipeline
controversy poor E&D results
OPINION/EDITORIALS _______
Manchester Guardian Weekly: A Deadly Business [Dick Cheney/Burma]
NLD: Regime Still Using Forced Labor
The Toronto Star: It's time we built new bridge to Burma
Asian Age: Restoration of Democracy in Burma
OTHER _______
Foreign Corresp. Club of Thailand Bulletin: Burma Press Conference
Aug 22
Bucknell University: Univ. Establishes Scholarships for Burmese
Students
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Mizzima: Forced labor still goes on in Burma, despite ILO ultimatum
Imphal, August 18, 2000
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
Because of the pressure given either by America or ILO, in some places
in Burma, forced labour is lifted for face-value but in Naga Hills
areas
forced labour is definitely still carried onö said a Burmese Naga, Mr.
Laung San, General Secretary of Naga National League for Democracy
(NNLD), whose headquarter is now established in an India-Burma border
area.
Naga Hills is situated in northern Sagaing Division of Burma.
Communication there is poor and contact with the people outside can
hardly be made. Human rights abuses are a day to day reality for the
villagers. And Naga nationals who escaped into India form Leshi
township
of Burma will tell you these bitter experiences if you happen to reach
at some of the Naga villages in Manipur and Nagaland states of India.
In June this year, the 88th International Labour Conference held in
Geneva sent a strict notice to the Burmese authorities that forced
labour be stopped unconditionally and on the 30th of coming November,
the International Labor Organization (ILO) would see whether the
military regime follows its decision or not.
But, forced labour, giving different names in pretension such as
"voluntary labour" and very little or no fare giving labour and so on
are still going on, at least, in Naga Hills. As it is, people here
have
no chance to work for their livelihood.
A top leader of the ruling military junta, State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) General Maung Aye, after his visit to Shillong in
India,
toured to the Chin State and Naga Hills areas in January this year.
He said the junta would transform the Chin State and Naga Hills û
Leshi,
Lahe, and Khanti regions - as tea plantation regions. In addition, he
promised for the regional development, building motor roads and
Tele-communication facilities like television towers in the region.
Then, forced labour is sought from the villagers for a 5-mile high way
construction between Leshi and Summara in Naga Hills.
Not surprisingly, it aims for the military personnel who stationed at
Summara, the border city with India.
For LeshiûSummara highway construction, twelve villages in the area
have
to supply hundred laborers in rotation with their own food and
clothing.
Each family is asked to make 6' x 6' x 1&#9564;' trench of split rock of
stone
35 trenches. Women and children carry the split rocks to the
construction site, the distance being half kilometer. Anybody who can
not work the given "duty" has to pay Kyat 3,000 through head of
village/
ward to township authorities concerned.
These villagers suffer from malaria and dysentery as the rains heavily
go on. "Laborers have to get up early, cook their breakfast and
lunches,
go to work up to 5 p.m. in the evening" said a woman whom our reporter
met at a border place.
At present, Tele-communication and television sets are being placed in
Leshi town and for this purpose too, a family has to contribute one
trench of split rocks or Kyats 3,000.
According to figures of the government, the budget for "Development of
Border Areas" for this year is Kyat 7,00 lakhs while for defence and
military purposes, Kyat 9,530 lakhs is sanctioned.
And the strength of the army in the border is increased more and more
and the villagers, mostly ethnic minorities, are the ones suffer. The
villagers carry rations and all eatables for the soldiers, of course,
free of charge. One villager is always on daily for carrying army
ration, reports and other purposes apart from the villagers cut tree,
bamboo, tatch, stumbling blocks for the army personnel.
Unable to bear these hardship and difficulties anymore, some Naga
families have in recent months, fled to India, particularly to the
Naga
areas in India. In Nagaland, there are about three thousand Nagas from
Burma and in Manipur, about six hundred Nagas of Burma are living in
the
Naga villages, according to NNLD leader Mr. Laung San.
ôIt is easy to get treatment here when one is sick. Moreover, We could
save money by working here. There in Myanmar (Burma), we can hardy eat
to survive. We have to work for the army and we are always afraid of
themö, said a Naga-Burmese villager in Manipur.
____________________________________________________
AFP: Myanmar troops storm Karen National Union base: border sources
BANGKOK, Aug 21 (AFP) - Myanmar troops stormed a base of the rebel
Karen National Union (KNU) and burned do200 soldiers attacked a KNU
base about six kilometres (four miles) from the border with Thailand
this morning," said timber mill owner Chuchat Sinsamut.
"They also attacked and burned the mill which is located on the
border."
He said fighters of the rival Democratic Karen Buddhist Association
(DKBA) fought alongside the Myanmar troops in the region opposite
Thailand's western province of Tak.
Border Patrol Police said two KNU rebels were killed and three
Myanmar soldiers injured in the fighting which lasted about an hour.
They said they expected more trouble in the next few days.
"The situation is not calm yet because the two sides are still
facing each other off," one police source said.
"The two sides are trying to defend their ground by laying down land
mines. More than 200 have already been laid down," he said.
Chuchat said that while the area was a KNU stronghold, it had been
peaceful for the past three months.
The police source said the Myanmar government was trying to wipe out
the Karen rebellion by cutting off its business links with Thailand.
"They belive the KNU are smuggling logs out and selling them to Thai
businessmen to fund their fight against the government," he said.
____________________________________________________
Bangkok Post the Generals' Visa Nightmare
August 17, 2000
Travelers Tales
....................................................................
Don Ross
The generals' visa nightmare
Burma falls further behind its neighbours in making travel easy
Neighbours are moving at a pace that could cause concern to Burma's
conservative leaders. They are surrounded by nations that have adopted
user-friendly visas and it is beginning to have a negative impact on
Burma's chances to attract more visitors. Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia
have
taken giant strides down the path to visa-free entry, leaving Burma
lagging
far behind.
Vietnam introduced visa-free entry for citizens of Thailand and the
Philippines in June. Both Vietnam Airlines and Thai Airways
International
have now report an increase in Thai passengers, particularly to Ho
Chi Minh
City.
One enthusiastic tour operator insisted all the flights from Bangkok
were
full. He had overlooked THAI's flight to Danang, which struggles to
break
even.
Vietnam is negotiating with other Asean member countries to sign
similar
bilateral pacts allowing visa-free entry.
Laos was the first of the new Asean members to experiment with a visa
on
arrival, issued at its international airport in Vientiane and the
Friendship bridge at Nong Khai. Cambodia followed once it understood
the
economic benefits of picking up US$20 from every visitor minutes
after they
had disembarked at Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. It's a thriving business.
Now
there is even talk of Cambodia allowing Asean citizens visa-free
entry, a
move that will cut into the visa business.
Burma hasn't quite got into the spirit of things. The concept of a
visa
shop, next to cigars and duty-free booze is still a dream that
hoteliers
and tour operators mull over. If it ever happened it would be a money
mill
churning out a daily guaranteed income in hard currency with minimum
overheads local government salaries and the cost of a dozen rubber
stamps
and pads.
According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association 192,000 international
visitors disembarked at Rangoon-airport last year. A visa shop would
have
earned the country $3.8 million at $20 a pop. Overseas
embassies
just can't compete. At Burma's busiest embassy, in Bangkok, overheads
turn
visa issuing into a money-loser and, at the end of the day, the fee
is paid
in baht.
So why doesn't Rangoon airport's have a visa shop? Apparently the
generals
who run the country have this recurring nightmare that once the
tourists
check into their five-star Rangoon hotels they will turn into
belligerent
human-rights activists.
Laos and Cambodia have suffered more than their fair share of security
scares, but no has suggested that the visa on arrival should be
blamed.
Hoteliers and tour operators who recently joined the new Myanmar
Tourism
Promotion Board are hoping the government will heed their plea for
easier
visa rules and procedures.
One suggestion is a limited visa on arrival, perhaps guaranteed by
tour
operators who bring in the groups. A tour operator would supply a
list and
the fee for each visa, and the customers would get their passports
stamped
on arrival at the airport, eliminating the need for a visit to an
embassy.
This would help to encourage tourism from European countries that
don't
have a Burmese embassy.
By linking the visa on arrival to the purchase of a tour package, the
security alarm might not go off in the generals' nightmare.
WHAT OPEN SKIES?
Thailand's top aviation figures, bar the celebrities from Thai Airways
International, sat side by side recently to fathom the scope of an
impending open-skies era.
They left the audience at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand
wondering if anyone had a clue of what the Thai government had in
mind when
it announced domestic aviation would be declared open.
Bangkok Airways president Dr Prasert Prasartthong-Osoth elaborated on
THAIs
spoiling tactics every time he attempted to start a new route. But
that was
the closest anyone came on the panel to telling it as it is in the
local
aviation world.
Angel Air's Somchai Bencharongkul shared a few thoughts on joint
ventures
while declaring the honeymoon with Orient Thai and its namesake
Kampuchea
Airlines would continue. PB Air's Jothin Pamon-Montri, who spent most
of
his working life in the top ranks of the national carrier, said he
would
"wait and see", while hinting that "open skies" was nothing more than
a
pleasant-sounding phrase in government circles.
At the end of the three-hour discussion we could only conclude that
local
airline executives hadn't bothered to ask the government for a clear
outline of what constitutes an open-skies policy. There are a million
of
interpretations to choose from, but so far the Transport Ministry has
explained very little other than to say "welcome to the world of open
skies" come Sept 1.
If there no such policy direction, then perhaps the ministry should
adopt
what the customer understands the term to mean.
Plainly speaking, the idea is to throw the door wide open and let the
market determine the outcome.
To the consumer, open skies ends the status of national airlines,
designated airlines, airfare controls and even quaint little
practices such
as seat capacity controls or any obligation that is not market-
driven. It
ends government interference in every aspect beyond monitoring safety,
aircraft licensing and the financial viability of airlines carrying
the
Thai flag.
It basically ends the reason why Mr Somchai and his partners were
obliged
to establish Angel Air in the first place with capital of three
billion
baht. It was done to obtain access to traffic rights that were
previously
given only to THAI. Open skies, even in its barest form, would end all
these privileges.
Readers can e-mail Don Ross at <editor@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL____________________
Reuters: Calcutta port workers hold up ship from Myanmar
CALCUTTA, India, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Workers in India's eastern
Calcutta port have held up a ship from Myanmar since Sunday to press
for trade union rights and democracy in that country.
The ship, M.V. Pagan, is now expected to sail out on Monday night
after a delay of 24 hours, a spokesman for the ship's agent, Everett
India, said.
He said the workers did not allow the ship to leave the docks at the
river port of Calcutta because the International Transport Workers'
Federation had issued a circular to delay the ship.
He said workers also demanded better working conditions for sailors
from Myanmar, where a military regime is in power.
_____
Mizzima adds:
In a telephone interview with Mizzima, Mr. Parbati Das from Calcutta
Port Shramik Union said that when they inspected the ship, they found
the condition of seafarers, all 22 Burmese nationals, very bad and the
seafarers do not get even proper food, drinking water. "The wages they
get are much far below than any standard", said Mr. Das.
"Mr. Htun Shwe, Master of the ship and local agent have agreed to give
us a letter of undertaking that they would provide all the means and
support to the Burmese seafarers", said Mr. Das.
The ship is expected to be allowed to sail out late evening today
after
the Master of the ship gives the undertaking to the union
activists. "We
have not had any official response from the Burmese authorities. But,
our main intention is to make them aware of our solidarity and support
extended to Burmese seafarers", said Ms. Nishi Kapahi from ITF Delhi
Office.
"We have always been supporting the cause of the Burmese Seafarers'
Union, which is in exile since trade unionism is not permitted in
Burma.
So, we have been supporting this Union. The main reason for supporting
this Union is because of the substandard of the condition that our
seafarers are subjected to', said Ms. Nishi Kapahi.
ITF activists at Vishaka Patnam port in Andra Pradesh organized
similar
boycott campaign in July this year. The ship, M.V. Chin Shwe Haw, was
held up for nearly four hours by 26 trade union activists belonging to
ITF on 3rd July morning and they then delivered a protest letter
against
the Burmese junta through the ship Master.
The international Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), a global body
of
more than five hundred transport workers' unions and International
Confederation of Free Trade Union (ICFTU) have been active in support
of
trade union rights in Burma. It has protested the Burmese junta for
not
allowing the trade unionism and denying the rights of the workers in
the
country.
Union activists held up Burmese ship at Calcutta Port
New Delhi, August 21, 2000
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
____________________________________________________
Reuters: Myanmar border guards kill four Bangladeshis
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar border guards on
Sunday shot and killed at least four Bangladeshi fishermen near Saint
Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh police said.
The police said a fishing boat with 16 crew on board cruising inside
Bangladesh's territorial waters came under fire from the Myanmar
guards and sank.
Two injured fishermen were rescued, but ten others were still
missing, they said but gave no other details.
``One body has already been recovered, and we are trying to retrieve
three others floating in the Bay,'' Sub-inspector Abdul Gafoor at
Teknaf police station told Reuters.
Bangladesh often alleges that Myanmar forces intrude into its
territory and kill or abduct its citizens from the frontiers.
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar border guards on
Sunday shot and killed at least four Bangladeshi fishermen near Saint
Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh police said.
The police said a fishing boat with 16 crew on board cruising inside
Bangladesh's territorial waters came under fire from the Myanmar
guards and sank.
Two injured fishermen were rescued, but ten others were still
missing, they said but gave no other details.
``One body has already been recovered, and we are trying to retrieve
three others floating in the Bay,'' Sub-inspector Abdul Gafoor at
Teknaf police station told Reuters.
Bangladesh often alleges that Myanmar forces intrude into its
territory and kill or abduct its citizens from the frontiers.
____________________________________________________
ANANOVA: Mother of jailed activist to visit him in Burma
www.ananova.com
August 20, 2000.
The mother of a British human rights activist held in a Burmese jail
says she will go to Burma after hearing that her son's appeal against
a 17-year sentence has been rejected.
Diana Mawdsley said: "I really do not know what the next step will
be, but I will go out there and just see how things are."
Her son James, 27, from Lancashire, was jailed last September for
promoting democracy in Burma and distributing leaflets urging people
to protest against the military regime there.
Referring to news of the appeal, Mrs Mawsley said: "I am glad at
least to know. But the case against James could not possibly stand up
in any decently ordered society."
She has now received her visa and plans to fly out to Burma on
September 4 on an open-ended ticket. "I think the situation will now
become political. It certainly cannot be put to rest," she added.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Although we have not heard from
his lawyer, we have heard through reasonably reliable sources in
Rangoon that his case has been dismissed."
Mr Mawdsley's father David, angered by the news, said: "The whole
country is constipated. Everything has to come from the top. They are
very cruel people and this is what James is trying to draw attention
to.
"We have to accept that the Burmese - I am not talking about the
normal people, but the junta - are not only incompetent but totally
dishonest."
The family has been in communication with Lord Daniel Brennan QC, who
is willing to go to Burma and fight on Mr Mawdsley's behalf.
Mr Mawdsley senior spoke to his son last month and saw him in June.
He said: "He looked remarkably well. He has been doing weight
training using water bottles as weights. It is the solitary
confinement that is really getting to him.
____________________________________________________
Chin Human Rights Organization: India Deported More Chin Refugees
19 August 2000
Aizawl
Chin Human Rights Organization ( Aizawl Branch )
At 6:30 AM this morning, All India Radio, Aizawl station broadcast
that 82
Chin refugees have been deported to the border river of Tio on 18
July 2000.
Detail news about the deportees is not known.
This is the third time in this month that Chin refugees seeking
refuge in
Mizoram State has been deported. On August 3, the Indian authorities
deported 87 refugees from Burma to the border. On August 8, the
Indian
authorities deported 27 Chin refugees to the border for the second
time in
the month.
The authorities of Indian ignored the appeal of International
Institutions
such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United States
Committee
for Refugees and other institutions and individual to stop
deportation.
So far Indian Government has been deported 196 Chin and other
refugees from
Burma in this month.
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ________________
Oil and Gas Journal: Myanmar's upstream sector hobbled by pipeline
controversy poor E&D results
The Oil and Gas Journal
June 26, 2000
Myanmar's upstream sector hobbled by pipeline controversy poor E&D
results.
After a string of large offshore gas discoveries in the early 1990s
brought it out of a long doldrums, Myanmar's oil and gas sector is
sputtering once again.
The main culprits are tensions between state oil company Myanma Oil &
Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the ruling military government that are
hindering development and the disappointing results of onshore oil
exploration; both are causing operators to throttle back investment.
Legal problems affecting two major foreign companies are also a
strain. Unocal Corp. and Premier Oil PLC are again facing legal and
political pressure in their home countries and internationally for
their involvement in development and pipeline projects involving
Yadana and Yetagun, gas fields that they respectively operate in the
Gulf of Martaban off Myanmar (Fig. 1).
The administration of US Pres. Bill Clinton last month renewed
unilateral sanctions against Myanmar, first imposed in 1997 over
allegations of slave labor and other human rights abuses in the
country.
Unfulfilled promise
When Myanmar embarked on market-oriented economic policies back in
1988, oil and gas companies were excited by the prospect of searching
for oil and gas in the underexplored nation. Non-US operators lined
up to sign the first production-sharing contracts in 1989.
But over the past few years, Myanmar has grown increasingly isolated
because of the US-led embargo and is regularly criticized for its
slow bureaucracy, contrary decision-making, and a lack of clear laws
and regulation and their arbitrary implementation, as well as
increasing corruption. Many companies have already pulled their
operations out of Myanmar, and others have threatened to do the same
if the country's investment atmosphere does not improve soon.
Simply put, Myanmar has not been a simple place for foreign companies
to do business. "It's been a nightmare," said one oil industry
executive. "It can take weeks to get approval to do the simplest
things, and then that decision can get overturned by another official
in another department or ministry."
Despite considerable interest during the 1990s, Myanmar remains an
obscure backwater as far as the oil and gas industry is concerned.
Exploration and development onshore is proceeding with limited
success, and after 18 months of delay, the country is only just now
about to receive the first payments for offshore gas exports.
On the onshore front, the operator of the country's biggest oil
field, Houston-based oil field service giant Baker Hughes Inc.,
announced in mid-January its intention to pull out of the Mann field,
in central Myanmar. In addition, six other companies or groups have
been mostly inactive over the past 2 years. All are small to medium-
sized operators, and the results of both exploration and development
have been sporadic at best.
Given Myanmar's earlier, much-vaunted potential, the delays offshore,
coupled with he disappointment onshore, have left the country's
industry in disarray The further impact of the US economic embargo
has made matters that much more difficult, discouraging investment
from companies that have the resources necessary to plan beyond
initial poor results.
"The fact is, it will be some time indeed before Myanmar truly lives
up to its potential as far as
hydrocarbons are concerned," said one executive with an oil operator
based in Yangon (Rangoon). "The combination of the embargo, the
economic crisis, and delayed development have really constrained
[investment]."
Human rights controversy
Most of the storms of controversy have swirled over the first
pipeline to be built to deliver Myanmar hydrocarbons to another
country.
The $ 1 billion, 665-km Yadana pipeline extends from Yadana gas field
to a power plant in Ratchaburi province. The Yadana consortium
consists of operator TotalFinaElf SA (31.24%), Unocal (28.26%), PTT
Exploration & Production (25.5%), and MOGE (15%).
The pipeline was originally scheduled for completion last April.
However, in January, the Thai
government suspended construction on a 10-km section of the pipeline
that extends through the Sai Yok forest reserve near the Thailand-
Myanmar border amid protests from environmental groups (Fig. 2). Work
resumed thereafter, and the pipeline was completed during the first
quarter.
But the real trouble came with allegations of slave labor used to
build the pipeline.
Attorneys for a group of Myanmese refugees have claimed that they
discovered "smoking-gun"
documents that prove that Unocal was complicit in abuses of human
rights by the Myanmese military. The abuses allegedly included slave
labor, numerous deaths, and the seizure of property. Unocal has
denied the charges.
A US federal judge in Los Angeles will hear the charges in July to
determine whether the suits, the first ever to hold a US company
liable for human rights abuses abroad, can proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office reiterated a request to Premier
that it pull out of its Yetagun gas project as soon as legally
possible. The request was made to Premier Chairman Charles Jamieson
as part of British efforts to put further pressure on Myanmar to
improve its human rights record.
An initial request was made 2 years ago. Premier is not expected to
heed the latest appeal. Premier operates Yetagun field, 175 miles
west of Thailand on Blocks M-12, M-13, and M-14 in the Gull of
Martaban.
But it is the suits against Unocal that have the gravest potential
consequences. The class action suits, originally filed in 1996, seek
more than $ 1 billion in damages. Attorneys for the refugees say that
US Department of State cables obtained under the US Freedom of
Information Act contradict Unocal's denials. They cite a 1995 cable
of an interview with Unocal executive Joel Robinson, which
stated: "On the general issue of the close working relationship
between Total/Unocal and the Myanmese military, Robinson had no
apologies to make. He stated forthrightly that the companies have
hired the Myanmese to provide security and pay for this through the
Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise."
Robinson was quoted as saying that three truckloads of Myanmese
soldiers typically accompanied the project officials during survey
work and the soldiers were informed of the next day's activities so
they could secure the area. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the cables
are evidence of a contractual relationship between Unocal and the
Myanmese military.
For its part, Unocal claims that the cables were "not factually
accurate" and that there is "no evidence that the Myanmese military
was hired by Unocal or Total or anybody else." A Unocal lawyer
insisted that its summary judgment motion "will dispose of the case
in its entirety."
US District Judge Richard Paez has already dismissed TotalFinaElf,
the operator of the Yadana
consortium, and the Myanmese government as defendants in the cases.
In January 1999, the Myanmese military was reported to have sent
troops and armored vehicles to
suppress ethnic insurgents threatening to bomb the pipeline. A unit
was assigned to protect a 60-km stretch of pipeline from the town of
Kanbauk to the border city of Thong Pha Phum that had been threatened
by Karen guerrillas. The unit consisted of an artillery battalion and
five rapid-response battalions. Four Karen men arrested as spies a
month before the deployment admitted to Myanmese intelligence that
they were planning to bomb the pipeline.
Unocal insists that its past 10 years of engagement in Myanmar have
meant "employment opportunity, technology training, education, and
health care opportunities," Carol Scott, a Unocal spokeswoman based
in Singapore, said recendy. "Reaching out through this kind of
engagement is the best way to achieve change, not hiding behind
sanctions. There should be more American companies there, not fewer."
She said people living close to the gas project Unocal was involved
in Myanmar were "very happy" it was going on because of the
opportunities it presented. "It will only serve to quicken the\
process towards democratization."
In late 1998, a renewed crackdown by the government on the country's
prodemocracy movement and its international supporters added to the
woes of business concerns already enduring criticism and local
sanctions for their trade ties with Yangon. This has yet to subside.
Clinton's decision in 1997 to bar new US investments in Myanmar has
also been effective. The sanctions drive-as well as consumer boycotts
directed at firms that deal with Yangon--have largely succeeded at
pushing companies to end their work in Myanmar.
ARCO, which had invested in two gas projects that provided more than
$ 55 million to the country, did not renew its remaining exploration
lease in the Gulf of Martaban. In addition, Texaco pulled out of its
onshore acreage, reportedly due to sanctions pressure.
Onshore E&D struggling
Onshore, activities have been difficult, although a sizeable amount
of acreage has been leased in the country since the late 1980s (Fig.
3). Smaller players with limited cash continue to stay involved in
the country, but efforts at success have been disappointing.
One of Myanmar's onshore gas fields, Aphyauk gas field in the Taikkyi
area in the central part of the country, is operated by MOGE and has
been supplying natural gas to Yangon, Pyay, and other areas in the
southern part of the country for power generation and industrial use.
Meanwhile, a pipeline has also been laid to bring natural gas from
another newly developed onshore oil field, Kyaukkliwet, to
Kyuanchaung and Chauk areas in Myanmar's Magway Province.
The following foreign companies remain active onshore:
* Myanmar Petroleum Resources Ltd., Yangon, has taken complete
control of Mann field following the departure of joint-venture
partner Baker Hughes.
* Astra Petro Nusa of Indonesia operates Chauk and Yemangyaung fields
in central Myanmar
(Yemangyaung is the oldest in the country and has been prodcing since
1887). Astra Petro Nusa is in the midst of shooting 2D seismic and
has talked about future exploration drilling but has no firm plans.
* Mercantile Southeast Asia Ltd. operates Myanaung field in southern
Myanmar, 200 miles
fromYangon and has plans to drill one shallow well.
* Focus Energy Ltd., formerly Asia Pacific Energy Ltd. operates Canni
field in central Myanmar. The company has completed some remedial
drilling but plans no new wells.
* A consortium led by the UK's Westburne Oil Ltd. operates in the
Yenama region of central
Myanmar. The consortium includes Westburne, the UK's A&T Exploration
Co. Ltd., and Israel's
Capital Investment Development Corp. This group is considering
drilling a shallow well with a MOGE
rig.
* PT Expan Sumatra Oil Co. of Indonesia operates blocks in the
Ohndwe, Kyaukkyi-Mindon, and
Padaukpin-Monnatkon areas. The company has plans to drill two wells,
and was expected to spud the first one in the second quarter.
Exploration and development drilling in all but Mann field has been
spotty, at best. The Myanmese have been trying to get the onshore E&D
firms to spend money, but scant activity has been forthcoming. A
large part of the difficulty has been dealing with MOGE, say foreign
industry executives here. The state company has little experience and
even less respect in senior government circles, they say Simply put,
MOGE does not possess the clout to honor the terms of contracts,
particularly when results are less than anticipated, they contend.
"MOGE is sad to deal with," says one executive of an onshore
operating firm. "They are simply not trusted by the government. There
is no sign of any technology. They are a state company that cannot do
anything on their own. None of their staff will speak up and say
anything significant, no one has authority, everything has to go for
approval to the Petroleum Ministry or the Finance Ministry."
Baker Hughes saga
The recent story of onshore development in Myanmar has been dominated
by the misadventures of Baker Hughes with Mann field.
According to those involved, Baker Hughes had a distressing
experience operating in the country, and results from its production
compensation contract with MOGE have been disappointing. The company
won an agreement in October 1996 to implement efforts to enhance
production at the aging field, wherein it was to be paid for
production that exceeded an agreed-upon level based on the field's
projected decline profile. The initial consortium, which consisted of
Baker Hughes, Irrawaddy Resources, Keppel Group, Nissho Iwai Corp.,
and Mynt Associates, broke up after it became obvious that initial
output projections were far too optimistic and that MOGE payments
were going to be seriously delayed.
Production exceeding the decline profile has been far less than
anticipated. Original projections were 3,000-6,000 b/d above the
originally projected output of 3,050-3,100 b/d and a limited amount
of gas. Currently the field is producing only 740 b/d above the
decline profile, confirmed Baker Hughes executives (OGJ, Mar. 20,
2000, p. 80).
This disappointment resulted in the failure of MOGE to pay for any of
the oil produced until the week of Nov. 29, 1999. According to
industry sources, MOGE has very limited power and is not permitted to
pay out money without the express permission of the Finance Ministry.
Early this year, Baker Hughes teamed up with Myanmar Petroleum
Resources and signed an additional contract on the same block. To
date, three wells have been spudded: Nos. 645, 646, and 647, at a
total cost of $ 53 million. Baker Hughes's recent decision to pull
out of the development has nothing to do with the disappointment of
Mann field's performance. According to company officials, the
decision was made at the board level to withdraw from all activities
that deviated from its core oil field services businesses.
"We started the Mann field project as a production enhancement
exercise and went about deepening sidetracks to existing production
wells," said a former Baker Hughes executive. "Unfortunately, it soon
became obvious that we were never going to get the increase in output
that we had initially projected. As of now, Mann field production is
between 3,050 and 3,100 b/d, and incremental production is 740 b/d
and will be sustained for a while. But this is a disappointment, and
we had projected doubling output when we signed the first agreement.
"Partially as a result of this disappointment, we had a lot of
difficulty getting money out of MOGE," he said. "The fact is, MOGE
essentially has very little power, particularly when it comes to
paying foreign companies. It is the Finance Minister who makes the
ultimate decision, and we have had to negotiate directly with him as
well as his team of advisers.
"When we had difficulty being paid and were going through the
disappointment of the
lower-than-anticipated enhancement output, we began reducing expenses
dramatically. We had
originally budgeted for $ 6 million/year in overhead and $ 15-20
million in revenue. Then we had cut expatriate staff to just two and
increased local manpower significantly to save costs."
Offshore gas woes
While results offshore have been better in terms of development, the
difficulties finding markets for the offshore gas and getting the
terms honored when agreed to have been equally frustrating.
"Better late than never" is the emerging attitude in the Myanmese gas
sector after the announcement that the Petroleum Authority of
Thailand (PTT) resolved a long-running dispute with the Yadana
consortium for payment of all gas not taken from the pipeline. In
addition to the $ 50.47 million settlement for gas not taken last
year, Myanmar now looks set to begin receiving regular revenue from
gas sales for the first time in its history.
After 2 years of delay, Thailand's Ratchaburi power station soon may
begin taking Yadana gas. A
dispute this spring arose between PTT and Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (EGAT), its chief customer for Yadana gas, over
sharing of take-or-pay costs (OGJ Online, May 2, 2000). Because of
repeated construction delays, the Ratchaburi plant is now prepared to
take only about 150 Mmcfd of Yadana gas, although PTT is committed to
purchasing 525 MMcfd of Yadana gas to feed the plant. The dispute
centered on whether or not EGAT would be willing to share part of the
take-or-pay costs the power plant construction delays have incurred.
According to press reports from Bangkok, a June 15 agreement
determined that five parties involved in the dispute--besides PTT and
EGAT, there are also the Finance Ministry and the Independent Power
Producers and Small Power Producers groups--would each shoulder part
of the take-or-pay burden. Officials says the apportionment of those
costs have not been decided yet, but a final decision is expected
soon--perhaps this month.
The Yadana agreement also stipulates that PTT agrees to accept gas
without enrichment until December 2006. The Yadana gas contains 712
btu of heating value, while the original contract called for 715 btu.
PTT did not reveal when and how much it will pay forYadana gas: "All
par-. ties are confident that this agreement is the outcome of
extremely good cooperation between the buyer and seller," PTT said in
a statement. "It protects the interest of all the parties and
strengthens their good relations for the coming 30 years [the
duration of the sales agreement]
While a far cry from the highly publicized expectations of 1998, when
Myanmar was expected to join the ranks of Southeast Asian natural gas
exporters such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, the sales should
still earn the country $ 2.9 billion over the life of the field.
Output of 550 MMcfd will also nearly triple the country's currently
modest output of 174 MMcfd, which it produces from various small
fields.
A second gas development, Premier's Yetagun field, 270 km west of
Thailand in the Gulf of Martaban, is scheduled to begin supplying 200
MMcfd to Thailand in 2000 under a 30-year arrangement between PTT and
the Yetagun consortium. The Yetagun group consists of Premier, MOGE,
PTTEP, PetronasCarigali, and Nippon Oil Corp. Earnings for Myanmar
from. Yetagun should average $ 823 million/year. However, like
Yadana, the Yetagun project is almost certainly due to be
significantly delayed.
PTT announced last December that it was seeking to postpone the
delivery of natural gas from second phase of its contract with the
Yetagun group. In the first phase, PTT will accept 200 MMcfd as of
July 1, 2000, rising to 260 MMcfd by Aug. 1. In the second phase,
delivery is set to increase to 400 MMcfd in 2003. PTT is seeking to
delay taking the additional 140 MMcfd for at least 2 more years or
until 2005. Discussions between PTT and Premier Oil are under way.
The gas revenues will dramatically increase Myanmar's foreign
exchange earnings. The country's major foreign exchange revenue has
traditionally been rice, beans, and teak. Its foreign exchange
reserves are estimated at a paltry $ 150-300 million.
Constructing the Yadana line has been almost as problematic as
getting the Ratchaburi power plant on stream and is a classic
illustration of the difficulties that can occur in developing
countries. For starters, the project was developed despite US
sanctions, In the past several years, Coca Cola and Texaco Inc. have
withdrawn from the country, and Unocal is the only remaining US
company with significant investment.
Outlook
It would be a gross mistake to believe the new gas revenue represents
the thin end of the wedge of Myanmar gas potential. Analysts caution
that the two offshore projects have effectively cornered the regional
market for Myanmar natural gas. Due to the recent economic slump in
the region, additional discoveries and subsequent development would
have difficulty finding markets.
Which is not to say that Myanmar does not remain highly prospective.
The Gulf of Martaban is thought to be replete with commercial
quantities of gas, and certain onshore areas also have good
potential. But the only likely buyer of future Myanmese gas
production is Thailand, and it has scant appetite to purchase any
more than Yadana and Yetagun.
It is also unlikely that much further activity will take place off
Myanmar in the medium term: "There is a lot of potential, but people
are reluctant to explore the offshore areas, because they're gas-
prone, one oil company executive said. "The two big players have the
market sewn up.
Although exploration results have been disheartening since the Yadana
and Yetagun strikes, Myanmar hopes to stimulate interest in some
remaining unawarded offshore and onshore blocks. Many of these are
located outside of traditional exploration areas. MOGE estimates that
it will need $ 5 billion in foreign investment in its oil sector to
fully develop its petroleum resources. Due to the sanctions and the
country's poor administrative reputation, anything approaching this
amount is unlikely to be forthcoming.
"They tend to forget that it is a competitive world out there," said
one negotiator for a Western oil company operating in Myanmar in
reference to the government. "It's like the old adage: 'Don't open
the stable door after the horse is dead.' If there is not a lot of
positive movement soon, more and more companies will pull out, and
they will have to do some real convincing to bring them back again."
Manchester Guardian Weekly: A Deadly Business [Dick Cheney/Burma]
NLD: Regime Still Using Forced Labor
The Toronto Star: It's time we built new bridge to Burma
Asian Age: Restoration of Democracy in Burma
_________________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________
Manchester Guardian Weekly: A Deadly Business [Dick Cheney/Burma]
August 9, 2000
COMMENT & ANALYSIS
A deadly business
What do Dick Cheney, Slobodan Milosevic and the British company
Premier
Oil have in common? Answer: they all believe in doing business with
Burma. For Mr Cheney, George W Bush's Republican running-mate, the
appalling human rights record of the Rangoon junta presents no bar
to trade. As chief executive of Halliburton, the world's largest
oilfield services company, he backed a lobbying group opposed to
sanctions on Burma. As a board member of another pressure group he
helped to persuade the United States supreme court to overturn a
Massachusetts law that imposed penalties on firms trading with
Burma. Mr Cheney, who was US defence secretary during the Gulf war,
believes in making the world a safer place for America's oil industry.
Slobodan Milosevic's top priority is a safer world for Slobodan
Milosevic. The isolated Yugoslav president will talk to almost
anybody these days. Last month he entertained Burma's foreign
minister, Win Aung, in Belgrade. Mr Milosevic said they agreed that
sanctions imposed on sovereign states were "a criminal form of
behaviour [and] a massive violation of human rights". He is not
troubled by the International Labour Organisation's accusation that
the junta has committed "an international crime", possibly amounting
to "a crime against humanity", in exploiting forced labour.
Nor, apparently, are Burma's hundreds of political prisoners, its
thousands of arbitrary arrests and torture cases, and the tens of
thousands of tribespeople killed or driven from their land over-
troubling to Premier Oil, which is persisting with its Yetagun gas
pipeline. Never mind that Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National
League for Democracy, and her supporters still face intimidation 10
years after elections in which they won 82% of the vote. Forget the
junta's involvement in heroin production and trafficking, and the
humanitarian and refugee problems resulting from its tyranny. All
that, Premier seems to say, is not our business. It may sound sick to
you. But it makes Dick and Slobodan proud.
___________________________________________________
NLD: Regime Still Using Forced Labor
No: (97/B), West Shwegonedine Road
Bahan Township, Rangoon
Statement 121 (8/00) (translation)
1. From early February 2000, a new road from Monywa to Kalewa running
along the Chindwin water course and a bridge crossing the Myittha
river in the Sagaing division are being constructed. The entire area
is full of clifts, ridges, chaungs and rivulets across which tree
trunks have to be laid for crossing.
2. Residents from the townships of Monywa and Ka-ne (Monywa
District), Min-kin township (Kale District), Kalewa township are
summoned in writing to give forced labor and money by a method of
apportionment.
3. Approximately 1000 people from each township is required to bring
Kyats 200/- each and provide force labor. The money is to be used as
and when necessary while working on the road. Kyats 500/- to 1000/-
has to be paid for inability to give forced labor. Villagers in the
vicinity and their cows and buffaloes too are commandeered for use on
the road. Though these animals are required for the cultivation of
crops on their farms, they are not spared. The people of the region
are extremely hard pressed for their livelihood.
4. These workers are abused and driven like slaves by those in
command. The area is infested with sand flies having the capability
of killing elephants and malaria injecting mosquitoes and other
insects and microbes that are harmful to humans.
5. Most of these forced laborers suffer from malaria and there are
times when many lose consciousness while on the job. No medical aid
whatsoever is provided by the authorities. Medicines have to be
bought from outside by the patients themselves. No compensation is
given for injuries or even death as a result of accidents at the
workplace.
6. We strongly condemn this lack of sympathy and consideration for
the country's people. Treating them as if they are not human beings
and forcing them to do arduous work like slaves to accomplish the
task given by those holding power is denounced by us.
Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
Rangoon
3 August 2000
___________________________________________________
The Toronto Star: It's time we built new bridge to Burma
Sunday, August 13, 2000
By Myint Shwe
What can Canada do for Burma? Given the geographic distance and lack
of
historical ties, it's easy to say Canada as a middle power can do very
little.
There is no Canadian embassy in Burma, a country of 50 million people
that has been free of colonial rule for half a century. Instead there
is
a Canadian "Interest Desk" in the Australian Embassy in Rangoon.
Canada's ambassador to Thailand is also accredited to Burma.
There is an overhanging controversy about the effectiveness of taking
active punitive measures against Burma that also moderates Canada's
commitment.
Many Canadians know Burma only in relation to Aung San Suu Kyi, the
Nobel Prize winner, and the Burma/Myanmar name game. Others innocently
ask whether it is an island-nation in the Caribbean.
So it is natural that Canada does not have "a policy" on Burma, apart
from bits and pieces of utterances that reflect declarations made
across
the Atlantic or south of the border. Canada does try to engage with
Rangoon on the narcotics issues (Vancouver being a Burmese heroin
entry
point to North America) and indirectly on humanitarian concerns.
But it would be wrong to say Canada has never had a relationship. A
river runs between the Burmese capital, Rangoon, and the working-class
city of Thar-Kay-Ta. The major link between the two cities, the
Thar-Kay-Ta Bridge, was built in 1966 by Canadian engineers as a gift
of
the Government of Canada under the Colombo Plan.
In 1966, it was state-of-the-art. The bridge's middle section consists
of two electric-powered drawbridges that raise up whenever big ships
arrive on the high tide (a wide tidal river flows underneath).
Previously, the 200,000 inhabitants of Thar-Kay-Ta had the use of
only a
single-lane bridge, a decaying relic of World War II, to commute to
Rangoon. The new Canadian bridge meant a lot to them. It was,
literally,
their lifeline.
Much water has passed under the bridge since then. Burma is no longer
a
socialist republic. The ruling junta is building dozens of bridges,
large and small, throughout the country using forced labour in the
name
of economic development.
The Burmese dictators are using the "politics of bridge-building" to
try
to win back the support of a population which has been tortured and
killed. But the Canadian bridge is still in place, serving the people.
For the Burmese, it's a rare symbol of foreign benevolence to
contradict
the tense xenophobic propaganda produced by the military regime.
Canada's half-brother in the Far East, Australia, recently took a bold
new path in dealing with Burma. With Rangoon's assent, it is starting
human rights workshops for Burmese prison and security personnel.
Australia seems to have grasped that exerting positive change on Burma
is best attempted by taming the power incumbent rather than trying to
replace it.
Canada's focus in Burma should be in the same direction. In league
with
Australia, Canada can set itself to the tasks of promoting human
rights
and improving the general welfare of ordinary Burmese. Build bridges,
open human rights schools, distribute condoms, give youth vocational
training, even extend offshore campuses of liberal Canadian
universities
to Burma.
Hold back the dollars, if there are worries about supporting the
junta.
In transition economies, the state remains "employer" to the citizens
far longer than it should. Help remove the regime from the "employer"
position and the people will do the rest.
But to build confidence, and to command respect as benefactor, refrain
from (deep) involvements in the messy domestic power struggle. The
bottom line is, so long as human rights are made safe and fully
respected by those who hold power, it is legitimate for Canadians to
do
business with Burma, a resource-rich, cheap-labour market that is the
last frontier for economic globalization.
But Canada has no embassy in Burma, though it will open a new embassy
in
Iceland (population 270,000) in 2001.
If fears of Vancouver serving as an entry point for Burmese heroin are
true, then organized crime has built a link between Burma and Canada
before the Canadian government has.
It's not that Canada is minimally interested in Asia. At the last
Asian
Regional Forum held in Bangkok, Canada announced it will extend
diplomatic relations to North Korea, a full-fledged Communist state.
Using long-term vision, the time is ripe for Canada to open an embassy
in Rangoon. This country needs to identify Burma, first, as a country
and look beyond the junta that happens to be the government of the
day.
It will depart the scene, someday, somehow.
Meanwhile the estrangement of Canada and others in the international
community hurts the Burmese people more than it hurts the regime.
-----
Myint Shwe, 49, spent five years in Insein prison at Rangoon for
political activity. He arrived in Canada via Thailand in 1994. A
graduate student at York University, he is Canadian co-ordinator for
the
National League for democracy (Liberated Area) organization based in
Thailand.
___________________________________________________
Asian Age: Restoration of Democracy in Burma
Restoration of Democracy in Burma
The Asian Age (20 August 2000),
www.asianage.com
Letters (page 12)
Sir,
I am a member of Burma's National League for Democracy(NLD) headed by
Ms
Aung San Suu Kyi, and have taken shelter in India. I have been living
here
nineties and have been helping the struggle for the restoration of
democracy in Burma through non-violent means.
I want to draw the attention of readers to the increasing problems
being
faced by Burmese refugees in India and other neighbouring countries.
The
root cause of problem lies in Burma itself; since Burma has become a
member
of Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN), the ASEAN leaders
have
adopted the policy of "Non-interference" in the internal affairs of
Burma.
But this is a sad turn of events, because whatever happens in Burma,
it has
far-reaching consequences on its neighbours.
The Burmese government has neglected for a long time, and is
continuing to
neglect, all the basic fundamental rights of the people--access to
education, information, economy and healthcare. The Genereals care
only
about how they can survive as a government. This has shattered the
Burmese
economy, resulting in a large migration of people from Burma to
neighbouring countries.
The people of Burma do not have any choice but to find jobs outside
their
own country. Hundreds and thousands of Burmese refugees are now
illegally
working in Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and China. As the
infiltration of the immigrant workers from Burma continues, countries
like
India and Thailand have begun to face numerous problems including
illegal
trafficking of drugs and arms across the border.
There is only one solution to all these problems and that is the
restoration of democracy in Burma. The government of India should not
neglect Burma's longstanding internal problems, as they have started
to
have an effect on India, too. Until and unless a democratically
elected
government comes to power in Burma, the entire subcontinent will
continue
to pay a heavy price.
Chan Mya
Vikas Puri
New Delhi
_____________________ OTHER _______________________
Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand BULLETIN: Burma Press
Conference Aug 22
August 18 2000 - Number 176
Burma Press Conference
Tuesday August 22, 2000 (10 am) Coffee refreshments
A specially convened press conference organized by the NGO ALTSEAN
with
updated information about the Burma to be announced on Monday. For
more
information call: 01 850 9008.
____________________________________________________
Bucknell University: Univ. Establishes Scholarships for Burmese
Students
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell's 142-year relationship with Burma
continues with the endowment of two new scholarships for Burmese
students with the help of more than 80 Burmese, including U Kyaw Win,
international president of the Committee for the Restoration of
Democracy in Burma.
The Shaw Loo Memorial Scholarship was established to commemorate the
anniversary of the arrival from Burma of Bucknell's first
international student and has grown to more than $350,000.
Win first wrote to 250 Burmese friends world wide, urging them to
contribute to the Shaw Loo scholarship. More than 80 Burmese, 50 of
whom now live in the United States, pledged donations. Then, through
the efforts of Win and his wife, Gandasari, an additional $209,000
was brought in to establish another scholarship for Burmese students.
"It is a remarkable achievement to reach this level of
endowment for the Shaw Loo scholarship, and funds continue to come
in," said Bennett R. Willeford, retired chemistry professor and head
of the Shaw Loo fund-raising drive. "We are most appreciative of
Professor Win for his own generosity and for using his extensive
contacts to solicit donations to honor Shaw Loo and to help Burmese
students receive a Bucknell education."
In addition to being the international president of the
Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma, Win was
founding president of the Foundation for Democracy in Burma. He is an
emeritus professor of counseling services at Orange Coast College,
Costa Mesa, Calif., and now lives in Boulder, Colo.
"Just the fact that one of my forebears trod the soil and
walked Bucknell's halls of learning to sharpen his intellect is good
enough for me to honor his memory and to express gratitude to
Bucknell," Win said. "Bucknell has a special place in my heart."
(More)
Page 2 Scholarships
Win was prominent in Bucknell's 1998 fall focus
semester, "Burma-Bucknell: Historic Partnership, Contemporary
Crisis," that marked the historic relationship between Bucknell and
Burma. He was one of the semester's main speakers and also helped
arrange other contacts with Burmese expatriates who have fled the
military dictatorship that runs the beleaguered country, now known as
Myanmar.
Bucknell's connection with Burma began in the 19th century.
Eugenio Kincaid, one of Bucknell's founders, was a Baptist missionary
in Burma in 1830. Howard Malcom, the first Bucknell President,
visited the Baptist missions there. Burma Weekends were held at
Bucknell from 1948-1965 attracting Burmese students from throughout
the United States, Burmese diplomats and U.S. government leaders.
Shaw Loo became acquainted with the Bucknell missionaries who
encouraged him to come to the university in 1858. He graduated,
eventually became a physician and returned to Burma to become one of
the country's leading citizens.
"To think the unimaginable that a young person journeyed so
far away from his homeland, Burma, to far-off American before the
advent of telephones, airplanes, electricity and then to live a long
and fruitful life of inspiration is enough for me to be awed," Win
said. "In our culture, we honor learning and highly respect those of
high learning -- the more so when one has left the confines of his
humble origin to acquire an education abroad."
Two Burmese students are currently enrolled at Bucknell; two
more plan to enter in the fall. Citizens of Burma who have financial
need will be given preference for both scholarships. The junta
recently reopened Burma's colleges and universities after closing
them for three years following student protests.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her fight
for freedom and human rights in Burma, was Bucknell's 1999
commencement speaker, which Win helped arrange. Her speech was
delivered by Burton Levin, former U.S. ambassador to Burma, because
of her fears that the junta would not allow her to return to her
country. Win and leaders of the Burma government in exile attended
the commencement.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kathie Dibell
Aug. 17, 2000 570-577-3260
dibell@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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